In response to a request by Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Ralph Torres, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA today announced that it is extending the comment period through Monday, July 26 on a draft Monument Management Plan and related Environmental Assessment for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument that addresses goals, objectives, and strategies for managing the monument through 2035.
Established by Presidential Proclamation in Jan. 2009, the monument is comprised of ~95,000 square miles of submerged lands and waters of the Mariana Archipelago east of the Philippines.
